Curry, Iguodala Finish Off Cavs; Win NBA Finals 4-2

The NBA season comes to an end as a new champion is crowned. The Golden State Warriors have completed their season by hoisting up that gold trophy that any player dreams of holding up. They were down 2-1 in the series but ending up winning 3 straight games to take the title, on the road in Cleveland.

Andre Iguodala had another phenomenal game in the close out game, keeping his consistency up and leading the Warriors to victory. Iggy scored 25 points, had 5 rebounds and 5 assists as the veteran swingman was named Finals MVP. NBA MVP Steph Curry also chipped in 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists being a strong leader for his team throughout the entire playoffs, especially during the Finals. They had great help from Draymond Green who had a very rare NBA Finals triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Festus Ezeli and Shaun Livingston both played big off of the bench, putting in 10 points each.

Sad to see that the best player in the world has now gone 2-4 in the NBA Finals, but no one can say that it’s his fault. The 4-time MVP had yet another monster game with 32 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists. He had some pretty good help from Timofey Mozgov who had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Tristan Thompson who had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and J.R. Smith who had 19 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers in the final 2 minutes to serge a comeback and really put some fear into Golden State’s eyes. Unfortunately for Smith and the rest of the Cavs, the comeback was not enough has the clock hit 0.00 with the Warriors leading.

This championship was the Warrior’s first title since 1975. It was truly the perfect season for them. They landed the number 1 overall seed in the playoffs, winning an outstanding 67 games, their star player won the Most Valuable Player award, and topped it off with a championship. It’s an amazing thing to accomplish for a team who was just picking in the draft lottery 3 years ago where they drafted Harrison Barnes, 7th overall. The front office did some amazing things with this team, drafting the right players for the system and who would mesh well together, create trades where they lost very little and gained so much (trading for Iguodala and Bogut) and hiring the right coach who is very likable and was able to turn a good team, great.

The Cavaliers have some work to do this summer. Keeping LeBron James would be their main priority, but the Akron native seems to be comfortable in his home state. Keeping Kevin Love is also another huge priority as the injured star played a valuable role to the Cavs during the regular season. Also, making sure Kyrie Irving’s rehab goes all well. Everything else will fall into place for David Blatt and his Cavs. When you have the best player in the world, other great players tend to want to play with him.

Curry drops 37 as Warriors Take Game 5

Coming off a momentum swinging game 4, the Warriors were able to cash in the momentum and take game 5, taking back the series lead, 3-2. This game was one for the ages as reigning MVP Steph Curry and former 4-time MVP LeBron James both put on a show, scoring big as the battle of NBA titans ensued.

Steph Curry led the way for the Warriors scoring 37 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in the win. He also went 13-23 from the field and drained seven 3-pointers. He had major help from Draymond Green who is really gaining confidence in a series that he was struggling in. Green had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, while game 4 star, Andre Iguodala put in 14 points, 8 rebound and 7 assists. The surprise of the game came from long time NBA veteran, Leandro Barbosa who scored 13 points off the bench in surprising fashion.

LeBron James was back to his MVP-like ways, cashing in a monster triple-double with 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. James has been having one of the greatest Final’s performances ever, averaging a little over than 36 points per game and putting 2 triple-doubles in the series so far. Even with James’ monstrous performances, he seems to have trouble receiving production from his role players and bench. Although the bench was struggling throughout the series, 6th man J.R. Smith was able to score 14 points for the bench, but received no other help. Tristan Thompson played big for the Cavs, putting in 19 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Dellavedova struggled for his second straight game scoring only 5 points and shooting 2 of 9 from the field.

The series is heading back to Cleveland for game 6 as the Warriors try to win their first championship in 40 years. The Cavs are now in a win or go home situation, as they must defend their home court to force a game 7 in attempts to end their city’s championship drought. Game 6 will take place on June 17th, at 4 A.M. IDT.

Iguodala, Warriors Win Game 4; Even up Series

Andre Iguodala had the game of his life during game 4 by scoring 22 points for the Warriors in their blowout win to even up the NBA Finals series at 2-2. With this win, Golden State takes back home court advantage after Cleveland stole a game on the road in game 2.

The MVP of game 4 was high-flyer Andre Iguodala who performed at an all-star level during one of the most important games of his life and in Warrior’s franchise history. Iggy scored 22 points, shooting over 50% from the floor and hitting four 3-pointers. Not only was he stellar on offense, but his defense on LeBron James was the X factor in the game. James, who was averaging about 40 points per game in the Finals, was held to only 20 points, but managed to have 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Iguodala had help from MVP Steph Curry who also put in 22 points, and from Draymond Green who has been struggling this series, but managed to have 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Timofey Mozgov was the leading scorer for Cleveland with 28 points and and 10 rebounds, while Tristan Thompson did all he could with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Surprise star, Matt Dellavedova struggled in this game with only 10 points, and shooting 3 of 14 from the field. The Cav’s bench struggled once again by only producing 7 points in the losing effort.

The Warriors were in control the entire game and really put on a show for basketball fans. It was extremely important for them to win this game to even up the series while heading back to Golden State for game 5.

David Blatt must pull some tricks out of his sleeve as momentum swung from Cleveland to Golden State’s favor. Blatt and James must keep up the production of the team and find ways to lock down Curry, while giving James some scoring help.

Lebron and Irving-Less Cavs Even Up Series in Game 2

Another overtime thriller took place in Oakland last night as the Cavaliers tied up the NBA Finals series at one game each. The Cavs were without all-star point guard Kyrie Irving as he just recently had surgery to repair the fracture in his left kneecap. Matthew Dellavedova received the start in place of Irving.

LeBron James finished with a monster triple-double consisting of 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, refusing to let his injury-riddled team lose. Timofey Mozgov played big as he cashed in a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. But the surprise of the night came from Matt Dellavedova who scored 9 points, but hit the go-ahead free throws in overtime and played stellar defense on Steph Curry.

Curry, who did not shoot the ball well last night, scored 19 points and shot 5-23 from the floor. Most of the Warrior’s scoring load came from Klay Thompson who scored 34 points. Draymond Green racked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but had a great defensive game with 5 steals and 4 blocks, including 2 blocks in the last minute of overtime on LeBron James.

The Warriors lead by 1 with 10 seconds to go in overtime when Dellavedova grabbed a clutch offensive rebound off of James Jones miss, and went up with the ball and was fouled, leading to two clutch free throws putting the Cavs up by 1.

The ball was in Steph Curry’s hands to win the game, but missed the last second shot, while being heavily guarded by none other than Dellavedova who shut down Curry and was the X-factor in the Cavs game 2 win. Steph Curry did not make a single shot while being guarded by Dellavedova.

Cavs coach David Blatt is a big fan of Dellavedova and his air tight defensive prowess on the floor. By stifling Curry all night long he will most certainly again get credit in the upcming games. It’s interesting to note that Dellavedova was almost signed Hapoel Tel Aviv before finding his way to the NBA and could have played in a derby match with Blatt’s former team Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Game 3 takes place in Cleveland on Tuesday, June 9th (Wednesday, June 10th at 4 A.M. in Israel). The Warriors look to bounce back and regain home-court advantage, while the Cavaliers look to use their momentum to bring them ahead and end their city’s championship drought.

Curry, Thompson Lead Warriors Past Cavs; Take Game 1 in OT

The NBA Finals kicked off this past Thursday with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for game 1. The Warriors lead by this year’s MVP Stephen Curry have been on a hot streak throughout the Wild, Wild Western Conference, easily beating powerhouses like the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. The Cavaliers lead by 4-time MVP Lebron James had an easy path to the Finals, sweeping teams like the Boston Celtics and the 60-wins Atlanta Hawks.

The Warriors had balanced scoring all around, lead by Curry’s 26 points and Thompson’s 21 points, with help off the bench from Andre Iguodala , who scored 15 points.

Lebron James had an astounding 44 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but it was not enough, as the Cavs lost it in overtime. Kyrie Irving also put in 23 points, but the Cavs didn’t have too much bench production, as the only bench points that were scored were from J.R. Smith who had 9 points.

The 4th quarter was back and forth between the two teams, which eventually lead to an overtime period. The Warriors proved to be too much for Cleveland to handle as they outscored the Cavs 10-2 in overtime, giving Golden State a 1-0 lead series and spoiling coach David Blatt’s NBA Final’s debut.

As if they injury bug hasn’t taken its toll on the Cavaliers enough, but it struck again as Kyrie Irving goes down with a fractured left kneecap, most likely keeping him out for the rest of the series